Brussels, 03/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - According to the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) the influence of the foreign policies of the EU and of its member states in the world weakened in 2011, compared with 2010. The think tank, which bases its “Scorecard” on political criteria, says that the euro crisis has led to a severe loss in soft power. “The EU is seen as less attractive to those wanting to join or to copy its multinational model”, it says. The crisis also limited Europe's ability to react to the Arab Awakening, argues the ECFR.
According to the scorecard, Europe performed best in 2011 in the liberalisation of trade with Russia, relations with the United States on Iran and nuclear proliferation, and on climate change. It was less effective in the rule of law in China, relations with China over the Dalai Lama and Tibet, bilateral relations with Turkey and relations with Turkey on the Cyprus question.
The ECFR found, too, that, while in the past, Germany often deferred to France and Britain on foreign policy issues, it is now a “leader” in more areas than any other country, though it is ranked as a “slacker” on a number of policy issues, including Libya, “indicating that it increasingly follows its own national interests”. New foreign policy leaders, such as Sweden and Poland, are now emerging, the ECFR says.
The report is available at: http://ecfr.eu/scoreboard/2012 (CG/transl.rt)